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For this issue, we've interviewed Clarke Lind who currently works at BC Hydro's wholesale and marketing trading division, while maintaining his training as an Elite Cyclist.In fact, all of his racing and training has been done while developing his career as a North American energy market specialist.
The following are Clarke's insights about his training and personal life as well as the lifestyle he maintains in order to fuel his vision and strength. His story shows that consistency, dedication and commitment are the key ingredients for this elite athlete's recipe for success!
"In order to race in elite-level triathlon and cycling events, it requires at between 12-20 hours of actual elevated heart-rate, endurance training per week (with a heart-rate north of 130 beats per minute.) I generally train twice per day and have been doing so since I started my Masters in 2010.
First training session –in the pool at 5:30-7 AM, completing anywhere between 2,000-7,000 M. The time, distance and workout are all related time of the year and specific goals related to racing. In the summer I’ll start doing more open water work to get race-fit. Swimming is therapeutic. It is almost meditative and it helps with balancing the body after so much saddle-time. There is nothing better than getting out of the water after a long, hard work-out and feeling fast and strong. It is such a great endorphin high. Second training session – Cycling or running.
All of my weekday evening training is done in North and West Vancouver in the mountains. I try to climb at least 4,000 M/week and ride anywhere between 200-500 km/week. This is all dependent on the time year and racing schedule. If I’m running, I’m in the trails. The UBC Endowment Lands are my favorite place to train in the city. In the winter in snow shoes in Cypress and Seymour. On the weekend I focus on long rides; +4 hours on both Saturday and Sunday.
Given my training volume, I am hungry all the time!
Morning: I usually have an espresso and yogurt before swimming, than a larger meal when I get to work. My staple post swim drink is chocolate milk. I have drunk chocolate milk after getting out of the water my whole life.
Lunch: My ideal lunch is grilled chicken with a quinoas, or buckwheat salad. This will hold me over for some time, but I also usually require a snack, which may include cereal with yogurt.
Dinner: I'm very fortunate to have a fiancé that specializes in vegetables and fish. Our staple meal is salmon, yams and salad. My evening meal goal is always to have sufficient complex carbs (usually in the form of yams), some protein (chicken or salmon) and a sizeable amount of salad. I am very lucky to live with the ‘salad queen’, so I always have a large-scale salad at my finger tips.
Training food – Sugar and Electrolytes: I realize that the current dietary trend is to push people away from sugar; however, from an endurance athlete’s point of view, it is a requirement!
You need electrolytes and sugars while in training. I personally like Scratch labs as an electrolyte source, as well as Cliff Shot Block for sugar and electrolytes. One key aspect in becoming a very good endurance athlete is to train your body to be able to convert fats into energy, while in racing/training. However, this requires years of training at a very high-level to be able to do. I have noticed that as I’ve gotten older and more used to training for long durations, I require less food while in training.

Clarke's Highlights:

Category 1 cyclist with a Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) professional international racing license.

I have raced as a category 1/pro road cyclist for the past three years in the US on an elite North American Continental team – Battley-Harley Davidson

Returned home to Vancouver in 2016 and began racing with Trek Red Truck Cycling (one of the preeminent, longest running and most successful elite cycling teams in North America)

Clarke's story shows that consistency, dedication and commitment are the key ingredients for success. And once you have a progressive lifestyle, you can enjoy success in all areas of your life because you are invested in your own potential.